| Popis: |
The Gulf of Mexico offers ample opportunities to both commercial and recreational fishermen. Long-term landings of most key commercial species appear to be stable. Changes in landings are often tied to regulations to manage fish stocks. For the analysis of Gulf fisheries, a 20-year period from 1990 to 2009 was chosen as inclusive of (1) pre- and post-management agency changes, (2) active tropical storm periods, (3) challenging production cost situations, and (4) high and low points in the national economy. This approach acknowledges that a species’ stock level and economic conditions of inputs and demand play roles in landings levels. A 3-year average was used to depict landings and associated value. Increasing imports has led to progressive decline in brown and white shrimp fisheries where employment has dropped from 109,000 in 2007 to 63,000 in 2009 and revenues have dropped from $2.5 billion to $1.7 billion. The Gulf shrimp-processing sector has experienced a steadily eroding marketing margin that has culminated in consolidation of this sector. |
